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There’ is a mystical teaching from the Zohar (collection of writings) that there is a gentle thread that runs through this season of the Jewish year. This is a thread of building, tending, and trusting that can hold together the closing chapters of Leviticus, the teachings of this week’s double portion, Behar-Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1-27:34), the spirit of Mother’s Day, and these final days of counting toward Shavuot.

At the end of Leviticus, the Torah speaks in a voice that is both firm and caring. It reminds us of covenant, of the way our choices shape the kind of world we live in. There are blessings when we live with care and responsibility, and words of rebuke when we lose our way. But even there, the Torah does not end in despair. It ends with the possibility of return, with the assurance that the relationship is never fully broken.

Behar teaches us about rest, about the land pausing, about release, about trusting that we are not the only ones holding everything together. Bechukotai speaks of consequences, but also of repair. Together, they describe a life that includes effort, limits, accountability, and hope. At the same time, we are in these final days of counting the Omer, moving steadily toward Shavuot. Each day is a small step. Nothing dramatic. Just counting, noticing, preparing. It is a practice that reminds us that growth often happens quietly, over time. We do not rush toward revelation; we ready ourselves for it.

And alongside all of this comes Mother’s Day, a moment that can invite us to reflect on care in its many forms. Mothering is not only about giving; it is also about guiding, setting boundaries, and sometimes allowing space. It holds both tenderness and strength. In many ways, it echoes the Torah’s own voice in these portions: loving, but also honest about what we need in order to live well.

Taken together, these days offer a gentle teaching. Care is not always soft. Sometimes it asks us to pause, to step back, to make room for rest. Sometimes it asks us to be truthful about what is working and what is not. And sometimes it simply asks us to keep showing up, one day at a time, as we do with the Omer.

If you are feeling stretched or uncertain, these texts offer a kind of reassurance: you do not have to do everything at once. You can take one step, and then another. You can build a life, a relationship, a sense of self slowly, with patience. And if you are thinking about those who have cared for you, whether in ways that felt steady or complicated, this can be a time to hold that with gentleness. Care, like covenant, is rarely perfect. But it can still be real, still be meaningful, still shape who we become.

As we approach Shavuot, we might ask: what kind of space am I creating within myself? Am I making room for learning, for connection, for something sacred to enter? May these days be a time of quiet preparation. A time to honor the care we have received and the care we offer. A time to trust that even small steps matter. And a time to remember that, like the covenant at the end of Leviticus, we are always invited to begin again. Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek – Be strong, stay strong, and together we will strengthen one another.

SHABBAT SHALOM